British Royal Marines have been deployed along Iraq's southern border with Iran as part of efforts to stabilize areas left behind in the coalition push on Baghdad. The British command has meanwhile announced that the city of Basra is now a legitimate military target. The announcement negates a previous declaration that coalition forces would by-pass the city but after meeting stiff resistance at Um Qasr and Nassiriya, coalition forces now believe Iraqi resistance fighters are melting in with the population of the city as part of their hit and run tactics.

The deployment on the border with Iran is meanwhile the furthest position east for British troops so far and is seen as a sign that the UK and US are concerned Iran could try and exploit uncertainty caused by the war.

Elsewhere, coalition forces continue their advance on Baghdad, with lead formations now less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the city and troops steeling themselves to meet "real resistance".

Correspondents embedded with British forces in southern Iraq say several hundred British soldiers had been dropped along the Iranian border by RAF Chinook helicopters.

Following Iran's support for the Muslim Shiite uprising in southern Iraq in 1991, the sources add that the country may now be "jockeying for increased influence".

According to the sources troops had faced fire from over the Iranian border.

Elsewhere, British troops are taking over from US soldiers trying to mop up the last pockets of resistance in the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.

PHOTO CAPTION

Hundreds of Royal Marines are flown to Iraq's southern border with Iran, as British troops admit they must change tactics around Basra.